


Starstruck 2: Intergalactic Rescue

by Lord_Bob



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Galaxy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Battle, Damsels in Distress, F/M, Fights, Outer Space, Rescue Missions, Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23993185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_Bob/pseuds/Lord_Bob
Summary: After Bowser and Rosalina won each other's hearts, Bowser made a promise to visit Rosalina in space.  His visit doesn't go quite as planned as an intergalactic threat makes itself present.  Rosalina and Bowser must team up to save the universe, and a friend of theirs as well!
Relationships: Koopa | Bowser/Princess Rosalina
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	1. Bowser's Visit

Rosalina was tidying up in the library aboard the Comet Observatory when she heard the familiar sound of a starship engine approaching. She walked outside and immediately recognized the ship. Her face lit up as she flew over to the landing pad on the Observatory. The ship landed and the door opened, revealing Bowser and his son.

“Rosalina! It's great to see you again!” Bowser said as he ran up to hug Rosalina.

“I'm so glad you could make it. It's been too long since we last saw each other.” she replied.

“I wish I could have visited sooner, but I've been real busy with the kingdom.”

Several Lumas flew over to greet their guests. When they spotted Bowser Jr. they flew around him and chirped happily. Bowser Jr. laughed as they circled him.

“I missed you too guys.” he said to the Lumas, “Come on, let's go play. I thought of a great game we can play.”

Bowser Jr. ran off with the Lumas following behind him.

“I'm so glad that he's getting along well with the Lumas.” Rosalina said.

“So what do you want to do now that I'm here?” Bowser asked.

“Well I should probably finish preparing dinner.”

“Sounds great. Where should I put our stuff?”

“You can just put it in my room for now. We'll work out sleeping arrangements for the two of you later.”

Bowser walked back onto his ship and returned with two suitcases. He made his way to the bedroom on the Observatory, guided by Rosalina. Bowser placed the suitcases near the doorway, and sat down on the bed. Rosalina sat down beside him.

“I'll tell you what.” Bowser said, “Coming all the way out here is tiring, but for you, it's worth it.”

“I'm glad you were able to find time to visit. It was starting to get lonely up here.”

“I don't blame you. Sure you got all the Lumas here to keep you company, but none of them are me!”

Rosalina laughed, and then stood up.

“You've still got a great sense of humor. I should probably go check up on dinner now. It should be ready in about an hour.”

Rosalina left to finish preparations for the evening. Later on, she called the guests into the kitchen. As Bowser approached, he could smell a pleasant aroma coming from the kitchen. When he and Bowser Jr. entered, they found Rosalina standing in front of the stove, with the table behind her set for dinner.

“What's that?” Bowser asked, “It smells great!”

“It's my own personal stew recipe.” Rosalina said, “It's made with vegetables and spices I grow in my garden.”

“There's no meat in it?”

“Well, it would be hard to find a reliable source of meat up here. Next time I visit you, I'll see if I can alter the recipe to add meat.”

“It's not a problem, just that I tend to have a more carnivorous diet. I have also had a bit of a run in with eating too many vegetables before.”

“Either way, I hope you two enjoy it.”

Rosalina poured three bowls of stew, and everyone sat down around the table to eat. Rosalina could tell from Bowser and Bowser Jr's reactions that they enjoyed the stew. When Bowser Jr. finished, he ran out of the kitchen to play with the Lumas again.

“Hey, Rosalina.” Bowser said, “That's some pretty good stew there.”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it. Would you like some more?”

“You bet! This stuff's great! I usually can't stand veggies, but if anyone's gonna prepare them right, it's you.”

Rosalina poured another bowl of stew for Bowser, and sat down beside him.

“So how has everything been for you since I left?” she asked.

“It's been really busy. Ever since we got together, I've been trying to make amends with the Mushroom Kingdom. I can tell you firsthand that kidnapping the princess for several years straight doesn't make it any easier.”

“I can't imagine it would be easy, but I'm glad you're trying to make up for your past.”

“Yeah, it's taken a lot out of me. Kamek told me he would take care of things for a few days so we could come visit you. There's not enough coins in the world to pay him what he deserves.”

Bowser got up, and him and Rosalina left the kitchen to walk around the Observatory.

“So how have things been for you up here since you left?” Bowser asked Rosalina.

“It's mostly been a lot of what I usually do. Taking care of the Lumas, reading and writing. I do miss the food back home. You always had great taste in dining. It's a shame we won't find much of it up here.”

“Yeah, you can't beat the stuff we make back home.”

“So did you have anything in mind that you wanted to do for the evening? I hadn't really planned anything out for us.”

“I'm actually kind of tired from the trip over here. All the stress from trying to work with the Mushroom Kingdom combined with the deep space travel. It takes a lot out of you.”

“Alright then, I'll get everything prepared for you. We'll think of something to do in the morning.”

“Thanks, Rosalina. You're a lifesaver.”

Rosalina went to get a guest bed prepared for Bowser, while he prepared himself for bed. Bowser entered Rosalina's bedroom to find a second bed prepared next to hers.

“Thanks again for getting everything ready for me, Rosalina.” he said.

“I'm actually a bit tired myself as well from preparing for your visit. I set up a second guest bed in the library for Junior. Polari will put him and the Lumas to bed when it's their bedtime.” Rosalina said.

“Alright then, goodnight Rosalina.”

“I'll see you in the morning, Bowser.”

The next morning, Bowser woke up to find Rosalina had already gotten out of bed. He went to the kitchen to find her there with a cup of coffee.

“You're up early, aren't you?” Bowser said.

“When you have as many children as I do, getting up early becomes second nature.” Rosalina replied.

Bowser helped himself to a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

“So, did you come up with any plans for what we can do while I'm up here?” he asked.

“No, I haven't yet. I'm actually now realizing there isn't a whole lot to do out here compared to back home, but I'm sure we can think of something.”

“Yeah, there's gotta be some action going on. Hey, maybe I should take over the universe again. That'd get us moving!”

“That might be a bit too far, but I appreciate the gesture.”

As the couple sat discussing possible ways to entertain themselves, Polari flew through the doorway in a hurry.

“Miss Rosalina!” he said in a panic, “We have discovered something of interest in one of the telescopes! Please come quickly!”

Rosalina and Bowser got up and followed Polari to the observation dome on the terrace. Inside they found Bowser Jr. and a small group of Lumas crowded around the telescope.

“What's going on?” Rosalina said as she looked into the telescope.

She stared into the telescope for a moment before stepping back surprised.

“Bowser, take a look at this.” she said.

Bowser peered into the telescope to see what all the fuss was about. He saw a small spaceship piloted by an alien, dragging a girl in an orange dress behind it.

“Hey! Isn't that Peach's one friend?” he asked.

“Yes. That is Princess Daisy. She's been abducted by Tatanga.” Rosalina said.

“Who now?”

“Tatanga. I've had a run in with him before.”

“What's he doing kidnapping her?”

“I don't know, but it can't be good. We have to help her.”

“Why? What's she ever done for us.”

“She's our friend, and we can't just let Tatanga kidnap her like that. Besides, you said you wanted there to be some action didn't you?”

“Oh alright, I'll do it. Just for you though, I couldn't care about Diana or whatever her name is.”

“It's Daisy.”

“Yeah, yeah, I knew that.”

Meanwhile, in a distant part of the universe, Tatanga carried a captive Daisy with him through space. Daisy struggled to escape the large claw she was held in.

“Let me go, you freak! Somebody help me!” Daisy shouted.

“Forget it, princess. In space, nobody can hear you scream.” Tatanga replied.

“Oh yeah? Well if that's true then how come you responded to me?”

“That's not important! The point is, nobody is coming to rescue you. Now sit back, keep your arms and legs still at all times, and enjoy the ride. We will be arriving at my grand space empire shortly.”

On the Comet Observatory, Rosalina, Bowser, and Polari gathered in front of a large map to discuss a plan to rescue Daisy.

“Do we know where Tatanga is taking her?” Rosalina asked.

“No, we only found him because Bowser Jr. and the Lumas happened to spot him through the telescope.” Polari said.

“Why don't we just track him down with the telescope?” Bowser asked.

“That won't work. He activated his drive core not long after we spotted him. He is far out of that telescope's range by now, and we don't know where he went.” Rosalina replied.

“There's one other thing we can try.” Polari said, “If we can find out where he's been already, we can possibly get a lead on where he is going.”

“That just might work.” Rosalina said, “Do you remember where the telescope was pointing when you first spotted him?”

“It was pointed two hundred and seventeen degrees horizontally, and twenty five degrees vertically.”

Rosalina input the angle of the telescope along with the Comet Observatory's coordinates.

“Okay, so if we take that combined with our current position, that's- That's Honeyhive Galaxy! The Bees might have seen him! Come on everyone, we don't have a moment to lose!”

“Wait, how did she figure that all out, and what's going on?” Bowser asked, “I'm still on the telescope thing.”

“Don't worry about it, Bowser.” Polari said, “Rosalina will handle the technical stuff from here.”

Rosalina started up the engines of the Observatory and input the coordinates for Honeyhive Galaxy. She waved her wand in the air and the Observatory began to fly.


	2. Honeyhive Battle

The Comet Observatory descended from the sky and landed in a field. Rosalina and Bowser stepped off the Observatory and were greeted by a pair of Bee guards.

“Stop there, Bowser! We won't let you get our queen's Power Stars!” one of the guards said.

“Relax guys, I'm with her.” Bowser said pointing to Rosalina.

“He kidnapped Rosalina, too? This is worse than I thought. Call for backup!”

“What a bunch of clowns these guys are.” Bowser said, “Stand back, Rosalina. I'll knock some sense into them.”

Bowser began to approach the Bee guards, but was quickly pulled back by Rosalina.

“Actually, Bowser, maybe you should let me handle this.” she said as she approached the Bees.

“Sorry about that. Bowser is right, he's with me, but I am not being kidnapped. Someone else is, however. We are one a mission to rescue her. I request that we have an audience with your queen, as I believe she may be able to help us.”

“Ah yes, of course.” one of the Bees said, “We will allow you to speak with the queen. She is at her castle as usual. The Launch Star will take you right there.”

“Thank you very much.”

“One more thing. Keep Bowser under control, especially around the queen. Everyone's a little on edge because of the recent attacks.”

“What's this about attacks?” Bowser asked, “Is there somebody you need me to punch?”

“The queen will explain it better if you ask her. I hope you can find the help you need in your quest.”

Rosalina and Bowser walked up a hill where they found a Launch Star.

“What's this thing?” Bowser asked, “It looks like one of those super powerful stars, except less... important.”

“This is a Launch Star. We use these for short-distance space travel. It should take us directly to the queen. Let me show you how to use it.”

Rosalina walked up to the Launch Star and prepared to show Bowser how to use it.

“So you get in like so, and then you just give it a spin.” she said as she rocketed away into the sky.”

At the Queen Bee's castle planet, the Queen sat anxiously discussing with other Bees. Rosalina landed at the edge of the planet. Not long after, Bowser flew in and face planted into the ground beside her.

“Not bad for your first try. Although you may need to work on the landing.” Rosalina said as she helped Bowser up.

“Thanks for the tip.” Bowser said.

The couple approached the Queen, who took notice of them.

“I'm sorry, I didn't see- Rosalina is that you?” she said.

“Sorry I haven't visited in so long, things have been quite busy.” Rosalina said.

“Now who is this you have with you? Wait a minute? What is Bowser doing here!”

“Rosalina and I kind of got together. We're what you'd call a couple now.” Bowser replied.

“The protector of the universe paired with the destroyer of the universe. Now that is something special.” the Queen said.

“I wish we could have met in less troubling times,” Rosalina said, “but we've come to ask a favor of you. A friend of ours has been kidnapped by Tatanga.”

“Tatanga? What trouble is he making now?”

“We're not sure what he wanted her for, but we need to track him down. The first lead we had led us to here.”

“I wish I could help, but the neighboring kingdom has recently decided to attack us, and we were discussing a way to hold them back when you arrived.”

“Those must be the attacks that the guards mentioned.” Rosalina said.

“I'll make you a deal.” the Queen said, “If you can find a way to stop their attacks, I'll help you track down Tatanga in any way I can.”

“Finally, some action! You got yourself a deal, Queen!” Bowser said.

“There is a Launch Star nearby that will take you to our closest position on them. From there, it will be up to you how you deal with them.”

“Very well, your majesty. We will report back to you as soon as we can.” Rosalina said.

“Thank you very much for helping us with this. I don't understand why they attacked us. It was all out of nowhere.”

Rosalina and Bowser took the Launch Star to the Bee's fort. Rosalina landed first, followed by Bowser, who this time rolled on landing before crashing into a wall.

“Are my landings at least getting better?” Bowser asked Rosalina.

“They're improving. You'll get there.” she responded.

One of the Bees took notice of the couple in the fort. He left from behind his map to greet them.

“Who might you be?” he said, “New recruits, I presume? No matter. We're getting severely overrun on this front, but if we can break through their lines, we'll have a clear shot at their current base. We do that, and we might have a chance to end this conflict.”

“You're the commanding officer here?” Bowser asked, “We've been sent by the queen to fix your mess out here.”

“Bowser, you could be a little less rude about it, but yes. We've come to help.” Rosalina said.

“You two look like you can hold your own. I'm gonna send you out as a strike team to try and flank the enemy. Come over to my map and I'll show you what I'm talking about.”

The Bee led Bowser and Rosalina into a tent and to a table with a large map on it.

“So this yellow marker is our current position, this purple marker is the enemy's position. These smaller markers represent each side's troops. That orange marker there is a Launch Star that leads right to the enemy's base.”

“So we just gotta get to that Launch Star? This'll be easy.” Bowser said.

“Not so fast, buddy. If you just run behind them and use it, you'll be at their base, with nothing but enemies on either side. You'd get swarmed in minutes at most.”

“So we need to go in behind them to give the Bees on the front line an easier time?” Rosalina asked.

“Precisely! There's an open flank path, but we can't send in too many troops, or the bugs will move in and overwhelm them. You two should be able to get in behind them without drawing too much attention.”

“Wait, what was that about bugs?” Bowser said.

“Have a look for yourself.” the commanding Bee said, gesturing to the front lines of the battle.

Bowser and Rosalina looked over the wall outside the tent. They saw the Bees battling a horde of giant purple beetles with large mandibles.

“Oh those are the Mandibugs!” Bowser said, “Yeah, I remember them from when I tried to take over the universe.”

“Alright you've seen what you're up against. Now get moving!”

Rosalina and Bowser began their move onto the battlefield. They saw the Mandibugs in full force against the Bees. What the Mandibugs lacked in intelligence, they more than made up for in numbers and brute strength, and they were beginning to overwhelm the Bees. They made their way to the path leading behind the front lines. As they made their way behind the Mandibugs, they spotted one on the flank path. It in return, spotted them and quickly ran off.

“Oh no, that's not good. Bowser prepare yourself. We're going to have to fight through this.” Rosalina said.

“I was born for this.” Bowser said.

A group of Mandibugs appeared from around a corner and charged at Rosalina and Bowser.

“Bring it on!” Bowser shouted as he charged into the Mandibugs.

Bowser tackled one of the bugs with his charge, and stomped on another as it ran at him. Two of the bugs attempted to run past Bowser and attack Rosalina. She responded by lifting one into the air with her wand, and throwing it at the other, taking both out in the process.

“That's all of them.” Rosalina said, “You certainly know how to put up a fight.”

“Those bugs didn't stand a chance.” Bowser said, “Come on, there's plenty more to squish up ahead.”

The duo continued along the path until they emerged behind the front line of the battle. They saw a massive swarm of Mandibugs attacking the Bees. They quickly dove behind a large rock to discuss a plan.

“I say we charge in and show them what we're made of.” Bowser said.

“That might be a bad idea. I know! What if I protected you as you charged into them?”

“Now that's a plan! Let's hit it!”

Bowser jumped out from behind the rock, and Rosalina placed a barrier around him with her wand. 

“Showtime!” Bowser shouted as he charged right through the front line of Mandibugs, taking out several in the process. Some of the bugs tried to stop Bowser's charge, but their attacks were blocked by Rosalina's protective barrier.

The Mandibugs were caught off guard by the flank attack, and they began to panic. The Bees were able to take advantage of the confusion and gained the upper hand on the Mandibugs.

“Take the Launch Star!” one of the Bees shouted, “We'll clean up the rest from here!”

Rosalina and Bowser ran up to the Launch Star and took it to the Mandibug's base. Rosalina and Bowser landed in sync with each other.

“Hey, I think I got it!” Bowser said.

They could hear a shaking coming from the giant tree above them. A giant green Mandibug fell from the tree and landed with a ground-shaking thud.

“Bowser.” it said in a slow, angry voice.

“Hey, if it isn't Bugaboom. How's it been?” Bowser said.

“You know him?” Rosalina asked.

“Oh you bet. I had him hold on to some of the Power Stars I stole from you when I took over the universe.”

“That's not all.” Bugaboom interrupted, “You left me to be defeated at the hands of Mario. Twice.”

“Yeah about that. Listen, we can put that behind us right?”

“I've been waiting so long to return that favor. I suppose now is as good a time as any.”

Bugaboom took flight and charged at Bowser. He quickly dove out of the way. As he turned back, Bowser jumped around to dodge out of the way of the bombs, and Rosalina shielded herself with a protective barrier.

“What are we gonna do, Rosalina? I can't get up to him!” Bowser said.

“He's too big for me to hold in place, and I don't know how much longer this barrier will last!”

“I haven't felt this alive in years!” Bugaboom laughed as he dropped explosives from the air, “Where's your plumber to save you now?”

“I'll do you one better.”

Rosalina, Bowser, and Bugaboom looked to see the Bees standing behind their commanding officer.

“What? How did you get past my army? There were so many of them!” Bugaboom said.

“Had a little help from these two here. Now let's show him what we're made of!”

The Bees began to fly up above Bugaboom, and readied themselves to attack.

“I'll see if I can slow him down for you!” Rosalina said.

She took her wand and grabbed hold of Bugaboom. The wand's strength wasn't able to completely stop him, and he struggled against Rosalina's magic in an effort to break free.

“Alright everyone! Hit it!” the commanding Bee said.

The Bees all slammed down onto Bugaboom from above, knocking him to the ground. Bowser saw an opportunity and charged toward him.

“My turn!” Bowser shouted as he jumped into the air and slammed down onto Bugaboom.

“Ah! Alright, I surrender!” Bugaboom said, “I'll tell you everything! Just please stop!”

“So, why the sudden need to attack our kingdom?” the commanding Bee asked.

“It was Tatanga. He said I could have all of Honeyhive under my control if I gave him the Bee's Power Stars.”

“First he kidnaps Daisy, now he wants Power Stars? Whatever Tatanga is doing, I don't like it.”

“Where's he going now?” Bowser asked.

“Last I heard from him he was going to Battlerock. Said he needed a little hired muscle.”

“Well boys, we did a great job here.” the commanding Bee said, ”Pack up and move out.”

“I'll get you next time, Bowser. When you don't have the Bees to come save you.”

“You really think we were in danger? We were just playing to make you feel good before we crushed you.”

Rosalina, Bowser, and the Bees returned to the castle.

“Well I must say that you did a wonderful job.” the Queen said, “I may even have to make you honorary Bees!”

“Those bugs didn't put up a fight at all!” Bowser said, “You know what we did? We squashed them like... like bugs!”

“I suppose I will have to fulfill my end of our deal. I will use the extent of my ability as Queen Bee to help you track down Tatanga.”

“We actually found another lead through Bugaboom.” Rosalina said, “He had made a deal with Tatanga. Bugaboom was promised complete rule over Honeyhive if he could take your Power Stars and give them to Tatanga.”

“Tatanga orchestrated the entire attack? What would he possibly want our Power Stars for?”

“Kidnapping a princess and stealing stars? This guy's totally copying my thing!” Bowser said.

“That's exactly why we need to put a stop to him. If he's doing the same thing that you did, the entire universe is in danger.” Rosalina said.

“Oh dear, this is worse than I thought. Did Bugaboom give you any clues as to where Tatanga is now?” the Queen said.

“We found that he was headed to the Battlerock. We're not sure exactly what he was after, but Bugaboom said it was to recruit someone to aid him.”

“You must hurry. There is no time to lose. I will send my Bees out into the universe and report any information they find to you.”

“Thank you, your highness. Come on, Bowser. We have to get moving.”

Rosalina and Bowser returned to the Comet Observatory, and Rosalina set a course for the Battlerock. As they left, the queen readied her kingdom's fleet of starships to scout the universe for any leads they could find on Tatanga's whereabouts.


	3. Battle on the Battlerock

“Princess, I hope you like your new home.” Tatanga said, “We'll be here together for quite a while.”

Tatanga had brought Daisy aboard his ship. It was decorated like the interior of a castle, with marble pillars and a red carpet leading up to two thrones. He gave her a tour around the ship, guided by a small group of robots bearing Tatanga's likeness.

“The only thing I'll like is when I kick your face in and get off this heap!” Daisy shouted.

“Now, now. Let's not get too feisty here. Remember that if you try anything, my robots are well prepared to deal with any threat.”

Tatanga gestured to his robots, and they each revealed a built-in cannon in their arms. He gestured again, and the cannons retracted.

“Now, I have one more surprise for you. If you would follow me this way.”

Tatanga walked down a hallway on the ship, Daisy and the robot guards followed him to a door in the middle of the hall.

“You'll love this. I had the robots make it just as I left to go get you. It's your own personal room!” he said.

Tatanga opened the door to reveal a fully furnished bedroom.

“Gee, thanks. I'm so glad you thought of me.” Daisy said sarcastically.

“I knew you'd love it! I even made sure there was a window put in so you could get a great view of space. Some of the robots may have gotten tossed into space during the installation process, but as long as it makes my queen happy, it's worth it.”

“Queen?” Daisy asked.

“Yes of course. Now if you excuse me, I have some personal matters to attend to. Get yourself accustomed to your new home. We'll talk again later.”

The robots led Daisy into her room, and closed the door behind her.

“Don't you dare let her escape, or I'll melt you down into scrap metal.” Tatanga said to the two robots.

The robots stood guard in front of Daisy's room, and Tatanga returned to the main hall of his ship. He sat down on his throne and pulled up his galactic map. As he sat looking at the map, a robot approached him.

“Tatanga sir.” it said, “There is a new report from the Mandibug kingdom, sir.”

“Excellent. I suppose they finally got me those Power Stars. Let's hear that report.”

“The report shows that the Mandibugs were unsuccessful in retrieving the Power Stars.”

Tatanga's confidence quickly turned to anger.

“What?” he shouted as he picked up the robot and brought it up to his face.

“The Mandibug forces were repelled by the Bee forces. Bugaboom was defeated at his base. The report also shows two non-Bee life forms assisted in the retaliation. Models suggest they are searching for Princess Daisy, and are heading to the Battlerock in an effort to track us down.”

“This is insanity!”

Tatanga threw the robot against the wall, smashing it to pieces.

“Robots! Front and center on the double!”

Two more robots appeared at the top of the steps in front of Tatanga.

“It appears we have some people who can't keep their noses out of other people's business. Those people will be heading to the Battlerock as we speak. I'd like you to alert the Topman Tribe, and set up a little meeting between the two parties.”

The two robots returned down the stairs to message the Topman Tribe. Tatanga pulled his map up and stared at it for a while. Daisy had heard all of what happened.

“Someone's coming to rescue me, perfect!” she said to herself, “Now I just have to wait.”

Daisy sat in silence for two minutes before she couldn't handle it any longer.

“This is so boring! How does Peach do this?” she said.

\---------------

Meanwhile, aboard the Comet Observatory. Rosalina and Bowser were discussing the situation with the Lumas.

“We aren't quite sure what Tatanga wants with these Power Stars, or why he kidnapped Princess Daisy.” Rosalina said.

“There's definitely one thing we know, and that there's nothing good that could come out of this.” Bowser added.

“Is there any hint on the location of Tatanga's base?” Polari asked.

“Nothing we know of so far.” Rosalina replied, “The most we have is that he had some sort of business on the Battlerock. I hope we can get some sort of lead there.”

“Papa's saving a princess this time.” Bowser Jr. laughed, “He's the good guy now.”

“There's plenty more than the princess that's gonna need saving by the time we're done here.” Bowser said.

Rosalina got up from her seat and looked at the navigation console.

“We're only a few minutes out from the Battlerock. As far as a plan of action once we get there, I think the best we can do is find a way inside and try to find any information that we can.”

“Hey. What exactly is this Battlerock?” Bowser asked.

“The Battlerock is a fortress built inside of a massive asteroid. It was created by the Topman Tribe nearly three hundred years ago.” Polari said.

“Three hundred years? You're telling me they've had that thing for three hundred years, and not once attempted to take over the universe with it?” Bowser asked.

“The Battlerock cannot move and is confined to its own system. It appears to serve a more defensive purpose than an offensive one.”

“We're beginning our approach to the Battlerock now.” Rosalina said.

As the Comet Observatory neared the Battlerock, the cannons on the outside of the fortress took aim and fired at the ship.

“Something tells me they aren't too happy about us just showing up like this.” Bowser said.

“The barriers on the Observatory are holding up, but we'll need to find somewhere safe to stop.” Rosalina said.

“I'm looking at the scans of the Battlerock, and there's no blind spots to place the ship. They're completely covered on all angles!” Polari said.

Bowser looked at the cannons on the Battlerock, and got an idea.

“What if we disabled some of the cannons?” he said, “Then we could make a blind spot and land.”

“How would we do that? The Comet Observatory doesn't have any weaponry, and my magic won't work at this range.” Rosalina said.

“Just get us in a bit closer, and leave the rest to me!”

Bowser picked up Bowser Jr. and got as close to the cannons as he could.

“Junior, you ready to double team this one?”

“Let's do it, papa!”

Bowser and his son spit blasts of fire into the cannons, the combined effort caused the cannons to jam and explode. Once enough of the cannons had been destroyed, they returned to Rosalina and the Lumas.

“That should buy us enough time to get in and find what we need.” Bowser said.

“Excellent work, Bowser.” Rosalina said, “And you too, Junior.”

“Thanks, Miss Rosalina.”

Rosalina landed the ship in the blind spot, and prepared to enter the Battlerock.

“Polari, I need you to stay back here and watch the ship.” Rosalina said, “Take this short-range communicator. If anything goes wrong, contact me immediately.”

“So what exactly is the plan, Rosalina?” Bowser asked.

Rosalina brought Bowser to the scan of the Battlerock.

“Not too far from where we landed, there's an emergency ventilation port. We'll enter there. From there, we should be able to find a way to the main control room near the top of the Battlerock. I don't expect it to be a stealth mission. They already know we're here. The less fighting we do, though, the better. I don't want to stay here any longer than we need to, otherwise those cannons might be repaired before we leave.”

“Well what are we standing around here for? Let's go!”

Rosalina and Bowser entered the Battlerock through the ventilation port. After a few minutes of walking, they found themselves inside a large, dark room. Rosalina pulled out her wand and used it to illuminate the room. They saw crates filled with ammunition and spare cannons piled up.

“This must be a weapon storage room.” Bowser said.

“They'll likely be on their way over here to replace those cannons we destroyed. Be ready to fight, Bowser.” Rosalina added.

Rosalina pulled out her communicator and contacted Polari.

“Polari, we're in some sort of weapons storage. We need you to look at the scan of the Battlerock, and find a way for us to get to the main control center from here.”

“Very well. It looks like there is an elevator not too far from that room. It should take you to the top floor. From there, it shouldn't be too hard to get to the control center.”

“Thank you Polari. We'll get going now.”

Rosalina went up to the nearby door and inspected it.

“It's passcode protected. There's no way to open it from in here. We may have to find another way around it.”

Bowser walked up to the door and pushed Rosalina out of his way.

“Stand back, Rosalina. Let me show you how a Koopa solves these problems!”

Bowser began to wind up a large punch. As he swung the door was opened from the other side by a Topman followed by several others. Bowser's punch collided with the one in front, sending it flying down the hallway. The others began to panic and scramble around the hallway. One of the Topmen rushed to a button on the wall. An alarm was set off alerting the entire base to the presence of intruders. Rosalina readied her wand and Bowser began to charge at the group of enemies in front of them.

“We need to clear them quickly before reinforcements arrive!” Rosalina said as she launched star bits from her wand into the Topmen.

“Yeah, I know! Good thing I'm here.” Bowser said as he picked up another Topman and threw it into the crowd.

Rosalina lifted one of the enemies up and threw it into the remaining members of the group, eliminating the present threat.

“Alright, I think we got the last of them.” Bowser said, “Let's get moving.”

Rosalina and Bowser walked down the hallway and came to a stop in front of an elevator.

“This must be the elevator Polari was talking about.” Rosalina said.

The light above the elevator displayed that it was moving down to Rosalina and Bowser. Bowser took notice and got an idea. He ran back down the hall and turned to face the elevator.

“What are you doing, Bowser?” Rosalina asked.

“I'm going bowling, stand back!” Bowser replied.

As the elevator reached the floor they were on, Bowser began to run toward the elevator. Once he had enough speed, he curled into his shell and rolled toward the door. The elevator opened to reveal a large group of Topmen crowded into the elevator. Before they could even leave, there was a loud crash, and all the Topmen had been cleared from the elevator.

“Bowser are you okay?” Rosalina said as she ran up to him in the elevator.

“I didn't feel a thing. Can't say the same for those guys.”

Rosalina looked down to the Topmen laying on the elevator floor.

“I feel bad that we have to do this to them, but they've been paid to fight us. I don't think we'd be able to talk our way out of this.”

“I don't know how much Tatanga's paying them, but it's definitely not enough to go against me.”

Rosalina and Bowser took the elevator to the top floor of the Battlerock, there they found the main control room surprisingly empty.

“Over here.” Rosalina said, “This is the main control console. If we can find anything about Tatanga's whereabouts, it will definitely be here.”

Rosalina began to search the console, while Bowser stood and looked around the room.

“Doesn't it seem a bit empty for a main control center of a space fortress?” he asked.

“It's possible that the group responsible for working in here were the same ones that we found in the elevator.”

“Yeah, but something just doesn't feel right in here.”

“I think I found something. Bowser, come take a look at this.”

Bowser walked up to the console Rosalina was standing at. On the screen he could see a description of a transaction along with a message.

“It's just like what Bugaboom said. Tatanga is paying the Topman Tribe to be his own personal army.” Rosalina said.

“What would he want with an army?”

“I'm trying to see if I can find a- Oh you goodness.”

“Rosalina? What's happening?”

“He's trying to take over the universe! He's recruiting these groups to cause trouble on his behalf.”

“First he kidnaps a princess, then he tries to take over the universe? This guy's totally ripping off my style!”

“That's why Tatanga wanted the Power Stars. He's going to use their power to conquer the universe. We have to find him immediately.”

“Is there anything there about where he's at?”

“Hang on, I might be able to find where this message came from.”

Rosalina searched the message again. She came across a location for a meetup.

“It looks like Tatanga wanted to meet up with the leader of the Topman Tribe to discuss an alliance at a specific set of coordinates.”

“What are we waiting for? Let's get back to the ship and get there! Maybe it's where his base is at!”

Rosalina and Bowser made their way back to the elevator. Before they could leave the center platform was surrounded by an electrified wall. Rosalina and Bowser looked around them and saw they were trapped. The platform began to lift up and out of the Battlerock, suspending itself in space. A large Topman with red-hot metal blades around its sides dropped from above and landed on the platform.

“That's Topmaniac!” Rosalina said, “He's the leader of the Topman Tribe.”

“He's really gonna go at us two to one? This should be an easy fight.”

Topmaniac began to spin faster and jump in place. A group of 4 normal Topmen dropped to the platform around him.

“This could be a little harder than I thought.” Bowser said.

Topmaniac charged directly at Rosalina. She flew out of the way and readied her wand.

“Bowser are you ready?” she said, “I'm going to try to set them up for you to knock over!”

“I don't know if that's gonna work, Rosalina. There's not enough room on this platform for me to do what I did earlier.” Bowser said.

The smaller Topmen rushed into Bowser, knocking him over. Topmaniac began to charge again, at Bowser this time. Rosalina quickly placed a barrier in front of Bowser, protecting him from the spinning blades. Rosalina dropped down to Bowser and spun to clear the Topmen off of him.

“Thanks, Rosalina, but how are we gonna deal with these guys? I can't take them all out, and you only focus on one enemy at a time.”

Rosalina and Bowser discussed their plan while trying to stay clear of the Topmen charging at them from all angles.

“I'm not sure. There's not much room here to maneuver, and they've got us outnumbered!” Rosalina said.

“Hold on, I think I got an idea. I want you to pick me up with that wand of yours, and drop me onto them as hard as you can!” Bowser said.

“Are you sure? It might end up worse for us than for them!”

“Rosalina trust me! Get to me quick!”

Rosalina flew over to Bowser, who then tossed her into the air above the platform. He then curled up into a ball while Rosalina lifted him into the air above her head. She took aim at the group of Topmen beneath her and threw Bowser down on them as hard as she could. The force knocked Topmaniac and the other Topmen off the platform and into space. Bowser skidded to a stop at the edge of the platform.

“I don't think we'll be dealing with those guys any time soon.” Bowser said.

“I'm actually surprised that worked. Good thinking, Bowser.”

The platform descended back into the Battlerock, and Rosalina disabled the electric walls with the center console.

“Hey, we should come up with a name for that move in case we need to use it again.” Bowser said.

“Maybe later. For now we need to get back to the Observatory.”

As the couple rode the elevator back down, Polari spoke through Rosalina's communicator.

“Miss Rosalina!” he said, “We need to leave now! They are repairing the cannons nearby and if we do not leave immediately, they will become operational!”

“Come on, Bowser! We don't have a moment to spare!” Rosalina said.

Rosalina and Bowser rushed down the hallway and into the storage room they first entered. They crawled back through the ventilation port and made their way back outside the Battlerock. They could see the cannons nearby had been fully repaired and were preparing to fire. The two hurried onto the Observatory as fast as they could.

“Everybody hold on!” Rosalina said, “This is going to be a close one!”

Rosalina started up the Observatory's engines and placed a protective barrier around it. The ship took off just as the cannons started to fire, and flew deep into space. Later aboard the Observatory, Rosalina, Bowser, and Polari discussed the findings in the Battlerock.

“Miss Rosalina I do not like how close we cut it back there. I'm concerned for the safety of the Lumas.” Polari said.

“I am too, Polari. I wish we didn't have to bring the Observatory, but the ship Bowser arrived on wouldn't have been able to withstand the barrage of cannon fire.”

“The important thing is, we got what we needed and got everyone out okay, right?” Bowser said.

“Yes, and about what you found there. I assume it will help us on our mission?”

“Absolutely, Polari. We discovered that Tatanga is recruiting people around the universe to stir up trouble for him. He is attempting to take over the universe.”

“Take over the universe? Well I guess that wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. Right, Bowser?”

“See this is what I was saying! I had a thing going, and Tatanga's trying to rip it off!”

“We found a location that we assume was a meetup point for Tatanga to discuss an alliance between him and the Topman Tribe. We're heading there next to see if we can find any clues to his whereabouts.”

“I assume that's where we are headed next?”

“Yes. We'll get going there right away. I'd like to ask how are The Lumas and Junior holding up in all of this?”

“They're doing just fine. Although Bowser Jr. seems a bit agitated that he cannot join you when you leave the Observatory.”

“I don't blame the kid.” Bowser said, “He's always looking for something to do. Just that this is more dangerous than I'd like, and I don't want anything to happen to him.”

“Speaking of the children,” Polari said, “I should probably check up on them now. I will leave the two of you to discuss our course of action from here.”

Polari left to attend to Bowser Jr. and the Lumas, leaving Bowser and Rosalina alone.

“Rosalina?” Bowser said.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Rosalina replied.

“Thanks. For giving me another chance. If it weren't for you, I'd still be back home kidnapping Peach to no avail.”

“I want to thank you as well. These past few years have been some of the best I've ever had. Between meeting everyone back home, and you asking me out on that first date.”

“It's been great. Now we've got a universe to save, don't we?”

“Yes, let's go.”


	4. Ruined Rendezvous

At his base, Tatanga sat on his throne as one of his robots approached him.

“Sir, we have received a distress signal originating from the Battlerock. We believe the group that attacked Bugaboom was involved in the defeat of the Topman Tribe.

Tatanga got up from his throne and walked his robot to a nearby window.

“My robot, I'd like you to tell me what you see out this window.” he said.

“I see the stars in space, sir.” the robot replied.

“Yes, and how would you like to get a closer look at them?”

“Sir, I am not sure what you mean.” the robot said.

“I mean you're fired!” Tatanga said as he opened the window and threw the robot out.

“No matter how angry I get, that always keeps me from losing my cool."

Tatanga closed the window and returned to his throne.

“Robots!” he called.

Three robots appeared before him.

“This group of troublemakers seem to have bested the Topman Tribe. Whoever they are, find them and destroy them. I'm sending you to that meetup point. The Topman Tribe likely led them there.”

Tatanga looked at his map of the universe. Plotted on it were several Power Stars he had his sights on. He pondered his next move.

\---------------

The Comet Observatory flew through space, nearing the location Rosalina found from the Battlerock.

“So how do we even know that this is where he is?” Bowser asked.

“We don't.” Rosalina said, “It could be his base, but it could also be something else. We should be there in a few minutes. We'll find out soon enough.”

As the Observatory approached their destination, they could see crumbled remains of stone bridges and pillars floating through space. As they continued through the debris, Bowser spotted a tattered flag bearing his own insignia.

“Hey wait a minute!” he said, “This is one of the galaxies I made to stop Mario!”

“I'm impressed that it's still around today.” Rosalina said.

Rosalina brought the Observatory to rest at one of the larger platforms, and she and Bowser went to look around.

“I get the feeling this isn't his base.” Bowser said, looking at the decaying remains of his former intergalactic stronghold.

“This shouldn't take too long, Polari.” Rosalina said, “We're just looking to see if we can find anything that will lead us to Tatanga.”

Rosalina and Bowser made their way down a path. It was beginning to fall apart, and the carpet that trailed down the path was torn. The iron railings on either side of the pathway were dull and cracked.

“It's a good thing all the traps stopped working in this place.” Bowser said, “We'd have a real hard time getting through here otherwise.”

They made their way to a destroyed set of stairs. Rosalina flew over the gap and helped Bowser up to her. At the top of the stairs they found another large platform surrounded by destroyed pillars.

“This place right here was where I fought Mario.” Bowser said, “Right about here is where the Grand Star would have been.

Bowser looked up to see the planetoid he had one used as the power source of his galaxy. The lava contained within the glass sphere had cooled and hardened.

“Hold on, there's something up there.” Rosalina said.

She flew up and landed on the planetoid. On the glass floor she found a perfectly circular hole. She got her wand out and pulled Bowser up to her.

“This couldn't have possibly been caused by damage to the structure.” she said.

“No, and I didn't put that there.” Bowser said, “Someone broke into this thing.”

“What reason would someone have to break into this in such a delicate manner?”

“Beats me. There hasn't been anything of value in it since Mario took the Grand Star out of here.”

Rosalina brought the two back down to the stone platform.

“There really isn't anywhere else for us to go here, and we haven't found anything that would lead us to Tatanga.” Rosalina said.

“He must have just used this place as a meeting point with the Topman Tribe.” Bowser said.

“The only thing we can do at this point is return to the ship and see if we can find anything elsewhere in space.”

As Rosalina and Bowser returned to the Observatory, they heard the familiar sound of a ship engine approaching. They looked up to see a small ship approach, stop just above, and drop a group of Tatanga's robots in front of them.

“Hostiles detected.” one robot said, “Combat mode engaged.”

The robots each prepared their cannons and took aim at Bowser and Rosalina. Rosalina quickly pulled her wand out and placed a shield to block the shots just as they were fired. She then flew up to get clear of the robots' cannon fire. Bowser shot a volley of fireballs into the robots and successfully took one down.

“Bowser can you try to knock them over? They don't have any room to move out of the way!” Rosalina said.

“I don't have any room to run these things down!” Bowser replied, “I'm kinda working with limited- aagh!”

One of the robots landed a direct hit on Bowser, sending him flying back toward the edge of the platform. Just as he was about to fall off, Rosalina flew underneath him and helped him back on his feet.

“Are you hurt, Bowser?” she asked.

“I'll be alright. Let's deal with these guys first.”

Rosalina put up another barrier to block the shots from the robots while Bowser recovered from his injury.

“Rosalina, I got an idea.” Bowser said, “Those stairs they're on are falling apart. I bet if we dropped something big on them, they'd break.”

“I'm not going to drop you on them. You're already hurt, and if you break the stairs, you'd fall as well.”

“You're right. We need something else heavy to drop.”

Rosalina scanned the area around her to find something to use on the stairs. She spotted several large pieces of debris floating through space around her.

“What if we took one of those pieces of stone?” she said, “I bet that would do the job.”

“Now that's using your noggin. Go up there and give 'em what they came for!”

“I can't just leave you here. You'd be vulnerable to another hit.”

“Try to get their attention before dropping the shield. Then go in for the attack.”

Rosalina flew up in front of the robots, and then around them in circles. The robots shifted their attention to aim at Rosalina. Rosalina continued to fly around the robots until she came up to a piece of debris. She took her wand and lifted it above the robots. With one swing she slammed the rock down on top of the robots. The stairs beneath them crumbled, and the robots fell into space.

“Nice going Rosalina!” Bowser said, “I knew you could do it!”

Rosalina returned to Bowser, who was sitting on the ground, holding his hand to his chest.

“Those robots. They looked a lot like Tatanga.” Rosalina said, “He must have made them and sent them after us.”

“Even more reason to take him down.”

“We have to find another lead on him. Let's get back to the Observatory.”

“Yeah, let's get- oh.”

Bowser's injury was preventing him from getting up.

“Oh no. It's that bad isn't it.” Rosalina said.

“No, I can- augh.”

“Stay here. I'll get the Observatory and get you on.”

Rosalina returned to the Observatory as fast as possible, and flew it to Bowser's position. She then lifted Bowser up and brought him to his bed.

“Are you sure you're going to be okay?” Rosalina asked.

“I've come back from worse.” Bowser said, “It'll hurt for a bit, but I should be fine by tomorrow.”

“Please just rest here until then. I'll be back to check on you.”

Rosalina left the bedroom and was greeted by Polari.

“How is he doing?” Polari asked.

“He says he'll be fine, but I'm still concerned. One well placed shot from those robots was enough to hurt him this badly, and I'm certain that Tatanga has many more of them ready to attack us.”

“Miss Rosalina, I share your concerns, but I believe you can do this.”

“Thank you Polari. I'm not quite sure where to go from here. We found nothing at the last location. Our trail on Tatanga has run cold.”

“I suggest we look around the universe to find any clues we can. In the meantime, we are running a bit low on food supplies. I suggest we use this spare time we have to restock.”

“We'll set course for the nearest star bit cluster. It's possible we may find something there that can lead us to Tatanga.”

Rosalina returned inside the bedroom to find Bowser asleep. She sat down on her bed next to him, and let out a deep sigh.

“I hope we can get through this.” she said to herself.


	5. Intermission?

After Rosalina woke up, she went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee as usual. She still had concerns over the mission, and kept wondering if they would be able to make it out alright. Bowser made his way into the kitchen and sat down next to her.

“Bowser, are you feeling alright?” Rosalina asked.

“Never better.” Bowser said, “So what's the plan of action here?”

“We're going to the nearby star bit cluster to restock on our food supply. Hopefully we can find a new lead on Tatanga while we're there.”

Bowser poured himself a cup of coffee and sat back down beside Rosalina.

“You know. After getting hit with that cannonball, I think it dawned on me what we're getting ourselves into.”

“You're right. It only occurred to me after that how dangerous this really is.”

“If the universe wasn't at stake here, I would just say rescuing the princess isn't worth it and just head home, but we're in a whole new situation here. We got just about everything to lose if we don't stop him.”

“Exactly. Which is why finding his whereabouts is essential. I just wish we had something else to go off of.”

Rosalina got up and went to the main control of the Observatory. There she started the ship on a course to the nearby star bit cluster. She kept an eye out for anything that might lead them to Tatanga. Her concerns grew each minute that nothing of value turned up. When the Observatory arrived at the star bit cluster, she called Bowser and Bowser Jr. over to her.

“What's going on, Rosalina?” Bowser asked, “Did you find anything?”

“No, I haven't found anything yet. I figured you two would like to learn how to gather star bits.”

“Can we collect the star bits, papa?” Bowser Jr. said.

“I don't see the harm in this. What do we gotta do?”

Rosalina picked up the large net and glass jars in front of her and brought it to the edge of the ship.

“This is the method I've used ever since I first started up here.” she said, “You take the net, and hold it out over the ship while it passes by the star bits. Then we take what we caught and put them in these jars.”

Rosalina handed the net to Bowser Jr., who reached it out as far as he could. As the ship coasted through the star bit cluster, the net filled up with star bits.

“Okay, you've got enough. Bring it back in.”

Bowser Jr. pulled the net back and sat it down on the ground next to him.

“Look how many I got, papa! Isn't it cool!” Bowser Jr. said.

“Yeah, you did a great job. You said these things are food, Rosalina?”

“Yes. They're mostly for the Lumas, but we can eat them as well. Give one a taste.”

Bowser took a star bit and bit into it.

“They taste kinda like candy.” he said.

“Candy? I wanna have some!” Bowser Jr. said as he took a pile of star bits and started eating them.

“Calm down, Junior.” Rosalina said, “I need to store them for the Lumas as well.”

The three took turns gathering star bits. While they were doing this, a Luma wandered through the cluster, and spotted the Comet Observatory. Bowser saw it floating toward them.

“Hey Rosalina did one of the Lumas get loose over there?” he said, pointing to the Luma flying toward them.

“No, I don't think that's one of the Lumas that lives here, but I'll gladly welcome it in if it wants to join us. It does seem to be flying toward us rather fast though.”

The Luma stopped in front of Rosalina and began to frantically talk to Rosalina.

“Slow down, there. I can barely understand a word you're saying.” Rosalina said.

“You can understand them at all?” Bowser asked.

“Yes. It comes with being their mother for centuries at a time.”

The Luma repeated what it had said before, this time slower and less panicked.

“Oh dear. Are they safe? Wait, I think I know who did it.”

“What is it saying?” Bowser interrupted.

“He's saying that the Penguins in Beach Bowl Galaxy were suddenly attacked. He managed to escape, but isn't sure if the Penguins were able to get to safety in time. I believe it was Tatanga that planned the attack.”  
“If we go there, we might be able to find Tatanga!” Bowser said.

“Yes, we need to get there right away.”

Rosalina immediately set the Comet Observatory on course for Beach Bowl Galaxy, hoping this lead would bring them to Tatanga's base.

\---------------

In Tatanga's base, he had just received a report that the group of robots he sent to attack Bowser and Rosalina had been defeated.

“Robot, could you please find me a screwdriver?” Tatanga said.

“Yes, sir.” the robot said.

The robot left and returned with a screwdriver, handing it to Tatanga. Tatanga then picked the robot up and removed each of the screws around its neck, letting its head drop to the floor.

“Robots!” Tatanga yelled.

A group of robots appeared before Tatanga.

“It seems like everyone is incapable of dealing with these vermin. It's time I took matters into my own hands. We will wait for them to arrive, and I will deal with them personally. See to it that my little project is completed on time.”

The robots all left and Tatanga sat back down on his throne.

“If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” he said to himself.


	6. Beachside Blast

When Rosalina and Bowser made it to Beach Bowl Galaxy, they found the usually lively and vibrant short completely abandoned. Instead of Penguins swimming in the water or running on the beaches, they instead found craters all over the sand. Rosalina looked up and saw a small ship fly overhead. As it flew over the beach it dropped bombs from above. Rosalina quickly pulled out her wand and placed a barrier over her and Bowser.

“What is that thing?” Bowser shouted.

“It must be one of Tatanga's ships!” Rosalina said, “We need to get somewhere safe!”

Bowser looked around and spotted a cave in the side of a hill.

“Over there!” he said, “We need to get to that cave!”

When the bomber was clear of the cave, Rosalina dropped the barrier, and the two ran into the cave.

“Do my eyes deceive me,” a voice inside the cave said, “or is that who I think it is?”

Rosalina used her wand to illuminate the cave. Inside they saw a group of young Penguins huddled around a larger Penguin.

“Rosalina, I knew it was you.” the large Penguin said.

“Coach, it's nice to see you again.” Rosalina said, “What's going on here?”

“Not sure. We were in the middle of our annual swimming tournament, and I was just about to hand out this gold medal.” Coach said as he pulled a Power Star out from under his wing.

“You use Power Stars as medals?” Bowser said in shock, “No wonder Tatanga's bombing you guys out!”

“Tatanga's back? I thought we saw the last of him nearly thirty years ago when he sent the entire Shroob race into exile.”

“Wait, he sent those things into exile?” Bowser said in shock, “Those aliens were the ones that attacked my home planet when I was just a kid!”

“Yes, Bowser. He destroyed their original home planet, forcing them to find a new world to inhabit. Coach, I'm afraid he's returned, and he seems to be plotting to conquer the universe.” Rosalina said.

“So he's trying to bomb us out to get these Power Stars, huh. Well I've got an idea. That thing up there keeps making passes over the beach and dropping bombs. I say if one of us can get up to it when it makes its next flyover, they could disable the thing, and we'd be safe again.”

“That's a good idea.” Bowser said, “Except for the fact that you're all Penguins, and there's no way Rosalina would be able to get up there without getting a bomb dropped right on top of her.”

“I could easily fly up there, but I'm not sure I would be able to take it down once I'm on top of it.” Rosalina said.

Bowser thought about a plan for a minute. Then, he got an idea.

“Rosalina, how well do you think we could use that barrier of your as a weapon?”

“Bowser, what are you talking about?”

“I'm thinking that if you slammed into that ship hard enough, it would be like firing a cannon at it. You put your magic shield around yourself so you don't get hurt, and we can take it out just like that.”

“That plan might just be crazy enough to work.” Coach said, “Anyone got a better idea?”

“I don't believe we have any other option. Let's see if it works.” Rosalina said.

Rosalina and Bowser exited the cave and saw the bomber ship returning over the beach.

“Here it comes! Get ready!” Bowser said.

Bowser picked up Rosalina and threw her toward the bomber as hard as he could. Rosalina took her wand and placed a shield around her. She struck the ship with such force, that it was knocked out of the sky and crashed on the beach near Bowser. Rosalina flew back down to the ground shortly after. Hearing the commotion, the Penguins left the cave.

“Well what do you know, it actually worked.” Coach said, “Thanks a bunch for helping us out there.”

“I'm glad it worked as well.” Rosalina said, “Considering I was the one being used as a projectile and all.”

“Hey Rosalina, this thing looks like it's still active. You better take a look!” Bowser said.

Rosalina walked over to inspect the crashed bomber. There was a cracked display panel on top of it that was still active. Rosalina looked closer and could see that it was displaying a warning signal and a set of coordinates.

“It looks like it's trying to broadcast a distress signal.” she said, “It doesn't look like it was designed very well though, as the recipient's coordinates are right here on the screen.”

“Recipient's coordinates?” Bowser said, “Wouldn't that be Tatanga?”

“You're absolutely right! We need to get back to the Comet Observatory and find Tatanga immediately!”

“Hey thanks again for saving us there!” Coach said as the two ran off.

Bowser and Rosalina made their way back to the Comet Observatory, and Rosalina input the coordinates into the navigation system.

“My goodness, he's at the Dreadnought.” Rosalina said.

“The what?” Bowser asked.

“The Dreadnought. A colossal ship that was constructed and then abandoned by an ancient race. Tatanga has set up his base of operations there.”

Rosalina made her way into one of the Observatory's domes, followed by Bowser. She pointed the telescope at the Dreadnought, and could see there was a structure attached to it that had not previously been there.

“Yes, there's no doubt.” she said, “He's set up a base on the Dreadnought.”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Bowser said, “Let's go save the universe!”

Rosalina started up the Comet Observatory, and took off toward the Dreadnought.

\---------------

At the Dreadnought, Tatanga was being escorted by his robot into a dimly lit room. When they came to a stop, the lights turned on, and Tatanga grinned.

“Sir, the project is nearing completion. Will you find it satisfactory?” the robot said.

“Yes I think it will do nicely. Is there anything else I need to know about this?”

“No, but we have received a distress signal originating from the bomber. It appears the transmission was unsecured, and the coordinates of our location may have been exposed to whoever took down the ship.”

Tatanga pressed a button on the wall next to him. A trapdoor opened up underneath the robot, dropping it into a pit of lava.

“It's a good thing this will be ready in time. I've got a little surprise for whoever thinks they can stand in my way.”


	7. Intergalactic Rescue Mission

As the Comet Observatory approached the Dreadnought, Rosalina gathered Bowser and Polari to form a plan of action.

“This mission won't be as simple as just running in and destroying the base, will it?” Bowser asked.

“No. Remember that Princess Daisy is being held captive in that base. The first thing we need to do is get her out of there and to safety. Bringing the Comet Observatory in would be a horrible idea. It's far too large and would attract too much attention.”

“May I suggest that we use Bowser's smaller starship? It could easily get in and rescue the princess.” Polari said.

“Excellent idea Polari. I will sneak into the base, and locate Princess Daisy. From there, I'll use the communicator to tell Bowser where to bring his ship in so we can get Daisy out of there.”

“So what do we do once she's out?” Bowser asked.

“I think you'll like this part. Once Daisy is out and in a safe place, we're going to both go in and shut down the base. We also need to recover any Power Stars we find along the way.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.”

“Miss Rosalina, I believe we are in range of the Dreadnought.” Polari interrupted.

Bowser looked out of the dome and saw a massive ship in front of him. The ship was armed with dozens of cannons, and dwarfed the size of the Comet Observatory.

“I could get used to having something like that.” he said.

“Bowser, we're not here to get you a new ship, we have to focus on the mission. Take this communicator and get your ship ready. I'll give you the signal when I find the princess.”

Rosalina took a launch star and flew into the Dreadnought. Bowser got to his starship and took off, ready on Rosalina's command. Once inside Tatanga's base, Rosalina flew up to the ceiling to stay out of sight of the robots. She spotted a hallway, waited for the coast to be clear, and flew down into it. Around the corner, she spotted a door being guarded by two of Tatanga's robots. She ducked back behind the corner to figure out a way to distract them.

Rosalina took her wand and summoned a star bit, which she then launched down the hall. The robots left the door and went to investigate. Rosalina then flew up behind them, and picked up one of the robots with her wand. She threw it into the other, destroying both. She then went back to the door and opened it to find a fully furnished bedroom with Daisy laying alone on the bed. Upon hearing the door open, Daisy sat up and saw Rosalina. Immediately she ran over to hug her.

“Rosalina!” Daisy shouted, “I knew you'd find me eventually!”

“Daisy, please. Not so loud. I'm trying to get you out of here.”

One robot made its way down the hall after hearing the commotion. When it saw Rosalina, it ran away and an alarm sounded. Rosalina looked back to Daisy angrily.

“Hey, it's not all my fault.” Daisy said, “You probably made it suspicious when you knocked out those other robots.”

Rosalina pulled out her communicator and contacted Bowser.

“Bowser, change of plans. We've been spotted. We need you to go in through the main entrance and help us clear out the robots.”

“I'll be right there, Rosalina. You can count on me!”

Rosalina escorted Daisy out of the room and down the hall. Before they could get to the main entrance, they were stopped by a group of robots.

“Daisy stay back, I'll take care of them.” Rosalina said, readying her wand.

“No, I can help!” Daisy said, “I'll take them all out!”

Daisy charged directly into the group of robots. She was promptly knocked back, landing face first next to Rosalina.

“On second thought, I'll just sit this one out.” she said.

Rosalina put a barrier between her and the robots. The robots began to fire their cannons into the shield, and the cannonballs fell to the ground. Rosalina picked one up with her wand and threw it down the hallway, destroying most of the robots. She repeated the process again to clear out the remaining ones.

“Okay the coast is clear, Daisy.” Rosalina said.

“Yeah sure just five more minutes mom...” Daisy said, still on the floor.

Rosalina picked Daisy up and they continued down the hallway until they reached the main entrance. When they got there, they saw Bowser's ship coming in for a landing, and Bowser stepped out.

“What? Now Bowser's here? What are we supposed to do?” Daisy said.

“Daisy calm down, he's with me.” Rosalina said.

“Since when was he the good guy?”

“Since I met Rosalina, now get on the ship before any more robots show up!”

Daisy ran up and got into Bowser's starship. Bowser closed the door behind her.

“If this guy kidnaps me too, I'm just quitting being a princess. This is way too much work.”

“Okay, so we got Daisy out. Now what?” Bowser said.

“We need to find any Power Stars we can and get out of here.”

“Well look who finally decided to show up!”

Rosalina and Bowser looked around to find the origin of the voice they had just heard. Tatanga emerged from a hallway behind the throne.

“Rosalina, we meet again.” he said, “Looks like you've got yourself a new friend. Teaming up with an old enemy? What could have possibly brought you to that?”

“It's a long story.” Rosalina said, “What business do you have causing trouble around the universe?”

“I decided to try my hand at the whole power grab thing. Figured it can't go any worse than Bowser over here.”

“Listen here, you little purple freak! I'm gonna punch you right in your tiny little face so hard, you won't be able to blink!”

“Under normal circumstances, I would just have my robots take care of you, but you managed to destroy just about every robot I had. You can make them look like you, but you can't make them as good as you, I guess. So in lieu of that, I've devised a special little surprise just for you two.”

Tatanga pressed a button on the wall and opened a large trapdoor in the middle of the room. He then jumped down the hole.

“Did he just...” Bowser said.

Bowser was interrupted by a low rumbling sound. Tatanga rose out from the trapdoor, along with a large robot mech. It was as black as night, and equipped with a cannon on each arm.

“So what do you think?” Tatanga shouted, “Just the perfect thing to destroy you with! Powered only by the finest Power Stars!”

“All the Power Stars you've stolen. You're using them to power that thing?” Rosalina said.

“How observant of you. I have to say, Bowser. The technology you used to create those galaxies was rather impressive. Without it, I wouldn't be able to power this thing.”

“See? Now he's even admitting that he just ripped off my stuff!”

“Who cares? Not like it'll matter when I rule the universe!”

Tatanga rocketed his mech into the air, slamming it down and knocking Rosalina and Bowser off their feet. Rosalina quickly placed a shield up to protect them as Tatanga rapidly fired off cannon shots.

“What do we do?” Bowser asked.

“I'll try to fly up and distract him. You go in to try to damage the mech.”

Rosalina flew up and behind Tatanga. He took no notice of her. She tried flying in front of his face, and around his mech. He still ignored her.

“You think I'm stupid?” Tatanga said, “What are you gonna do while I'm not looking? Sprinkle stardust on me?”

Rosalina took out her wand, and grabbed one of the cannonballs as it shot out of the mech's cannon. She then dropped it on top of Tatanga.

“Ouch! You little pest! I'll make you pay for that!”

Tatanga took his attention off of Bowser, and started shooting at Rosalina. Bowser took the opportunity to run in and start attacking the mech. He broke one of the cannons before Tatanga realized and kicked him away.

“You may have taken out one of the cannons, but I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve!”

Tatanga pressed a button and a glass shield enveloped the cockpit of the mech. He then brought the legs of the mech together, and it started to spin around like a top. Bowser ran as the mech chased after him, the spinning arms destroying some of the pillars in the room. The mech then came to a stop, and Tatanga started firing again.

“I can't drop another cannonball on him, he's protected now.” Rosalina said.

“Rosalina, put your barrier on me! I have an idea!”

Rosalina pointed her wand at Bowser, and he was surrounded by a barrier. He then charged up to Tatanga's mech. Tatanga tried to stop him with cannon fire, but the shots were all reflected by the shield. Bowser then rammed into the arm of the mech, destroying the second cannon.

“Good thinking, Bowser!” Rosalina said.

Tatanga brought his mech into a defensive stance.

“I gotta get these cannons repaired quickly!” he said.

“He's got nothing stopping us!” Bowser said, “Now's our chance to take him out once and for all!”

Rosalina flew over to Bowser, who lined himself up with the mech.

“Time for the special move?” he asked Rosalina's

“Time for the special move.” Rosalina responded.

Bowser picked up Rosalina and tossed her into the air. Bowser tucked into his shell as she lifted him up with her wand. Rosalina threw Bowser into Tatanga's mech with all the force she could. The force threw several metal plates from the hull of the mech, revealing a Power Star core inside.

“It's the Power Stars!” Rosalina said, “Bowser quick! Pull the core from the mech!”

Bowser reached into the mech to grab the core, but was knocked away by a swing from Tatanga's mech.

“Oh no you don't!” Tatanga shouted, “You're never getting these Power Stars from me!”

Rosalina flew in while Bowser held the mech back. She aimed her wand, and pulled on the mech core as hard as she could. Tatanga fought back with everything he had.

“I won't surrender!” Tatanga shouted, “I will rule this universe! I will have my empire!”

“Can it you grape flavored copycat.” Bowser said.

Bowser launched a fireball at Tatanga, distracting him just long enough for Rosalina to rip the Power Star core out of the mech. Without any power source, Tatanga lost complete control over his mech. It stumbled around, destroying the nearby pillars before finally crashing in the middle of the room.

“Nobody copies Bowser and gets away with it!” Bowser said.

Rosalina returned to the ground with the Power Star core in hand.

“It looks like our work here is done. Let's get going.”

Debris began to fall from the ceiling. The pillars that were holding the ceiling up had been destroyed in the battle, causing the base to become structurally unsound.

“You can say that again. This whole place is falling apart!” Bowser said.

The two ran back to Bowser's starship, trying to dodge falling rocks along the way. Bowser opened the door to his starship.

“Why did you guys get to have all the fun and I just had to sit in here and watch?” Daisy said.

“Daisy, this isn't the time to complain. This place is collapsing!” Bowser said, “Rosalina get in!”

Rosalina turned back and saw Tatanga unconscious on the ground. She took out her wand and placed a barrier around him. Just as she did so, a large pile of debris fell on him. She then boarded the starship and closed the door.

“Hold on everyone! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!” Bowser said as he started the engine and took off.

The starship took off just as the ceiling completely collapsed. A piece of debris landed on one of the thrusters of the ship, causing Bowser to lose some control. He was able to pilot it away from the Dreadnought, and crash it on the landing pad of the Comet Observatory.

“I nailed that landing, didn't I?” Bowser said.

“It could have been a bit more graceful.” Daisy said, picking herself up off the floor.

“Is everybody alright?” Rosalina asked.

“I'll be fine.” Bowser said.

Rosalina opened the door, and the three exited to the Comet Observatory. Rosalina turned around to see Bowser's starship had been heavily damaged during the escape.

“I don't think that thing will be able to fly you all home safely. It would be best if we took the Comet Observatory back home.” she said.

“What a vacation this turned out to be.” Bowser said.

“Next time, can one of you get kidnapped instead?” Daisy said, “Sitting around waiting for something to happen was no fun at all.”

“Noted.” Bowser replied.

“Well suppose I should get you all home.” Rosalina said.

Rosalina set the Observatory on course for their home planet. Later on, Bowser approached Rosalina to ask a question.

“Rosalina, back there on the Dreadnought, I saw you save Tatanga right before those rocks fell on him. Why exactly did you do that?”

“The same reason I saved you from that black hole when you tried taking over the universe.” Rosalina replied.

“Hey Rosalina!” Daisy shouted from across the Observatory, “Where's the bathroom?”

“Polari!” Rosalina shouted,”Could you please show Daisy where the bathroom is?”

“Of course, Miss Rosalina.” Polari responded.

“You see, Bowser.” Rosalina continued, “I did that because I felt that you didn't deserve what had happened. I wanted to give you a second chance.”

“You felt the same about Tatanga? He was crazy. There's no way he isn't gonna try something like this again. Even I did that.”

“You may be right about that. I want to remain hopeful that he understands why I saved him there, though.”

“Rosalina!” Daisy shouted again, “There's no toilet paper in here!”

“Polari!” Rosalina called.

“I'm on it!” Polari responded.

“Anyway, we're almost home.” Rosalina said, “It's been great having you here.”

“Thank you, Rosalina.” Bowser said, “This was all way more exciting than I anticipated.”

The Comet Observatory touched down nearby Peach's Castle. Daisy immediately jumped down and face planted into the grass.

“Finally home!” she said, “I'm sick of being in space. There's nothing to do up there.”

“Except rescue princesses, it seems.” Bowser said.

Peach heard the noise and came out to see what was going on.

“Rosalina?” she said, “I thought you weren't supposed to visit again until next year, and what is Daisy doing with you?”

“Have a seat, Peach.” Rosalina said, “It's a long story.”


End file.
